How often do you buy flowers for yourself or for a special someone—only to realize they wilted away after a couple of days?
On January 15th, the Class of 2026 began to sell their annual pipe cleaner flowers to “spread Valentine’s love,” as explained on their Instagram post, found on @maldenco26. Unlike real flowers, these ones do not die. They can be kept forever and displayed, added to a collection, or simply kept as a sentimental reminder of the person who bought them.
For students at MHS, the pipe cleaner flowers are more than just a fundraiser; they are “almost a tradition at this point, every time Valentine’s Day comes around, we make them…It’s our thing,” senior Volunteer Coordinator Oscar Luc expressed.
The Class of 2026 began selling flowers in 2024, during their sophomore year of high school. This year, they began crafting the pipe cleaner flowers during December break, so they would be ready to begin selling pre-orders by January 15th. Even though it was an extremely long and tedious task, “it was really fun just coming together at one of the student council members’ homes and just spending the day working away and building the flowers together,” Luc continued.
Customers, such as senior Nour Jaayfer, were specifically attracted to the creativity behind the flowers,she described them as “an artistic and unique item to gift yourself or another individual.” This year, I will be keeping it for myself,” Jaayfer added.
“I think it’s a smart idea, since flowers are something people usually buy for special occasions; so combining that with fundraising is a really good idea, and it’s an easy way for students to support the class while also getting something meaningful and thoughtful in return,” senior Phuong Anh Nguyen explained.
This year, unlike previous years, the Class of 2026 has decided to make the bouquets pre-set, rather than customizable. But as they had stated in their caption underneath their Instagram post, “they are even more beautiful and a better deal than before!”
They have decided to not to fulfill any individual requests unless they were only minor adjustments because managing many different personalized orders can be difficult, and they wanted to avoid any confusion or promises of something that they would not be able to deliver.
February 11th was the last day to order these bouquets for Valentine’s Day, and they had sold 14 of them in total. The money that they raised through this fundraiser will “go to reducing prom ticket prices and cap and gown costs, and overall just making everything affordable for our class,” senior Event Coordinator Fiona Youmell stated.
She explained how they decided to follow through with selling these flowers because she knew the council was capable of producing a lot of them on their own and how it would be “profitable, given how cute they are and also how easy it is to get supplies.”
Many seniors choose to contribute to their classes’ fundraising efforts, as they believe that it’s a better alternative to buying those items at another store. “Whether it’s bake sales or concessions, I support my class. Even when it comes to just getting food when I’m hungry, it seems like a better cause to support rather than going to CVS for snacks,” senior Jacob Morrison expressed.
He had purchased a bouquet for his girlfriend and was excited to give it to her and “see her reaction to getting the flowers and knowing that those flowers are something she can keep for an extended period of time.”
Like Morrison, junior Francesca Marenghi-Pellino had also purchased flowers for her significant other.
Every year, she adds a special twist and sprays her perfume on it so he can “keep it as a cute keepsake.” After that, he adds them all to one vase. They both enjoy seeing the “accumulation” over the course of their relationship.
Beyond raising money for the Class of 2026, the pipe cleaner flowers bring students together as it encourages connections among students throughout MHS. Whether it’s bonding over creating the flowers as the council does, or seeing the joy on someone’s face when gifting it to them as the buyers do, the pipe cleaner flowers tend to leave a positive and lasting impact on everyone involved.
If you missed out on purchasing them before Valentine’s Day, make sure to keep an eye out for their next pipe cleaner flower fundraiser in the spring, as they are both a thoughtful and creative gift, to give to someone special.
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